


Welcome to the Promised Land

by StarsAfterDark



Category: Splatoon, Splatoon 2
Genre: 3 isn't telling his though, Agent 3 is an asshole, Agent 4 is trying his best, Agent 8 can't deal with all the new things, Agents have names, All agents are clueless gays, At least at the start, Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Gay Stuff, Head Injury, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mature stuff later on, Multi, No spoilers but 3 & 4 show 8 a good time, One-Sided Attraction, POV Third Person, Polyamory, Post-Octo Expansion DLC, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pride, Self-Esteem Issues, Slice of Healing, Slice of Life, Slight Canon Divergence, Slow Burn, Splatfest (Splatoon), clueless gays in a clueless love triangle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-20 21:08:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17629715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarsAfterDark/pseuds/StarsAfterDark
Summary: A week after finally making it to the surface and recovering his memories, Agent 8 is finding it difficult to assimilate in Inkopolis; the past keeps haunting him in his dreams and the one agent whom he thinks would understand him the most does not seem to care for him at all. Agent 4, fresh from his victory against Octavio, takes Agent 8 under his wing to help him on his feet in his new home and Agent 3 struggles in dealing with the aftermath of one of his greatest failures and how that affects his relationship with everyone else.





	Welcome to the Promised Land

**Author's Note:**

> Splatoon/Splatoon 2 (C) Nintendo - I don't own anything from it
> 
> One of my first Splatoon fics and I hope it's good enough to get you interested. Thank you for clicking, reading and and critique if there's anything insanely wrong with it.

There was a time when he thought that he'd never leave the Deepsea Metro.

He would be resigned to slinking around in the tunnels and brushing his hand against the bricks with the sharp edges and biting corners, wondering the history behind them and never getting the answers. There were no answers in anything that he tried to accomplish; the tests were lies designed to push him through a never ending barrage of physical and mental pain. When he would inevitably fail he would walk the tracks of the subways knowing that beyond the walls there was dark nothingness. Sometimes it was blue, but most times it was just black.

There was always a possibility of being able to escape, but at what cost? To fall into the depths of the abstract void where nothing made sense? Opening his eyes and looking up he would see the floating city tall above him, the sprawling urban environment just so tantalizing and out of reach no matter how much he tried. He tried to jump.

But he'd fall into the metro again with the music pulsing through his ears; those liberating words that freed him and made him realize what was truly capable in his world - freedom. Freedom and the fight that would banish him here. The old world and the promised land mixing in together before his eyes as he felt the searing pain of the ink that was foreign to him hit his body. He cried out each time, willing the enemy to stop, he couldn't take it anymore but they would keep going. He would end up back where it all started not before too long.

They never showed mercy each time. He would appear ashamed, crying and back at the metro station. Nothing mattered. No one cared. The train waited for him, but he continued past it and stepped onto the tracks again.

The tracks began to fall away but he kept walking. He wanted out of this nightmare that he felt he could never escape from. The train thundered towards a destination that never seemed to come, a telephone ringing endlessly in his ears, the whirring of blades ready to strike again...

Agent 8 opened his eyes and saw himself holding a weapon, watching with glittering eyes upwards as his whole world was turned upside down. The programming in his mind had fallen away like stray ink, dripping into the abyss. He felt his sins begin to fill his body but he didn't feel anything about it. He just felt a bit lighter.

The train stopped at one of the stations, he wasn't sure what it was called, just that it was somewhere that felt artificial and soulless. It made him feel nothing but regret. Regret and floating platforms inside a sphere that displayed images of what things used to be, how they were run, before they all came to be. He sat down at the edge, far away from the station, and let his legs dangle over. Everything was a pale pink as if the sun was setting... but that was silly. Because it wasn't the sun. He would never feel the sun.

" _You can't keep going like this..._ "

8 chuckled, but it was devoid of any happiness. He didn't consider a response.

The voice that sounded suspiciously like his didn't push further. It just faded away like everything else.

He couldn't bring himself to go back to the metro station after the 20th attempt. It was too embarrassing. But who was watching? No one, he tried to reason with himself, it was just himself. But bringing himself back to the fight, to push through and conquer once again after failing so much didn't feel like it was worth it. So he turned around and boarded the empty train and watched the city above him fade away again. He'd ride and walk the rails for what felt like forever until the sounds faded away and he opened his eyes.

Everything changed. The air felt sweeter, he felt lighter and he could breathe again.

It was dark inside the apartment, the only sign of it being a slight blue hue filtering through the window - one of Inkopolis' lights - and 8 breathed a sigh of relief. Another nightmare, he thought to himself, running his hand through the one tentacle on his head before looking around. He didn't realise how quickly his heart was pounding until he rolled up and out of bed. That's right, he was in a bed. It was weird to feel the springs and the general softness of the material beneath him.

He'd never slept in a bed before. The memcakes hadn't made an indication that he'd ever slept in one.

He gave a sigh and pulled his shirt over before exiting the room slowly. His body was fatigued still, it had been a week since that whole ordeal, but it felt like it had happened yesterday. He quietly ascended the stairs into the living room where a light snore was coming from the couch. The kitchen was across from there and he tried his hardest to not make too much noise or bump into anything in the dark but on cue, he heard rustling from behind him.

"Mmmf..." 3 mumbled.

8 felt awful that he had woken him up again. But if the Inkling was ever annoyed about it, he didn't show it. In fact, from what he was starting to pick up about him, he didn't say much at all, a fact that Cuttlefish was all too eager to lightly tease him about. 8 didn't see a problem with that. Sometimes you just didn't need to talk.

His tone didn't indicate a pleasant mood, nor did he get up. Instead he just rolled over and heaved a deep sigh. 8 heard every little bit of it as he grabbed whatever he could find and quickly shuffled back to his room. Don't worry about Agent 3, Cuttlefish had spoken to him a few days after they all arrived back, he can be a bit gruff. That wasn't even half of it, 8 wanted to reply so badly but he kept his mouth shut. It was something that he wasn't going to divulge because they both knew what the problem was.

It hurt his heart to have him ignore the Octoling throughout most of the day; apparently he was annoyed that Marina had forced him to give up his bedroom to 8. Emphasis on 'apparently'. No matter what he did the Inkling wouldn't warm up to him. With the nightmares, it had made him feel so useless and a nuisance. But he hadn't kicked him out yet so that counted for something... right? He heaved a sigh and sat down at the edge of the bed, eating the sandwich that he had taken. He wasn't sure what the flavor was called but it was nice. It made his stomach hurt less.

He ate in silence and listened to the sounds outside his window; the sounds of music and passersby speaking to each other down below. It gave him a comfort knowing that the world was living and breathing up above and, most important of all, he was there as well. How strange it was to finally be up on the surface after such a long time. He hadn't had long to really think about it. All that he could really remember was the sea air blowing against him as they finally ascended to the surface.

Which, as far as 3 was concerned, didn't really happen. Not out of ignorance but of embarrassment. There was no doubt that he felt humiliated to be bested by mind control from a telephone and didn't really seem to like bringing up the subject. The greatest heroes are never remembered... or something like that. Someone said something along those lines or maybe he thought it himself. Memories were confusing.

Maybe Agent 3 could count his blessings once again that no one, save a few, knew of the fighting that happened below the surface. It wasn't something that he was willing to remember anytime soon either way. Everything was too raw and too soon, just like the nightmares.

He finished his food and decided to give sleeping another shot. If that didn't work, 8 would resign to writing poetry again. It was one of the few things that made him feel more relaxed and at ease.

His head hit the pillow and he closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, it was morning.

* * *

The floating islands called Octo Canyon lay before the three of them - Cuttlefish had insisted on getting back and seeing how Callie and Marie were getting along, and Agents 3 and 8 were along for the ride. There was nothing else to do; the metro was behind them and the Octarian menace had been defeated once again by a new agent, one that they hadn't met yet.

8 felt a little put out when they arrived there and found another Inkling in the Hero gear - a male with a pulled back and spiked hairstyle, different to 3's ponytail but they looked almost identical in many ways despite the two year age gap between them. Tentakeel Outpost was a sight to behold despite 8's social anxieties at meeting yet more that lived on the surface. It didn't help that when they were noticed, the other agent gave them the biggest grin and almost skipped towards them.

"Hey-o!" The male greeted them cheerfully. "I guess you're the other agents, huh? The ones that I hear saved Inkpolis?" Agent 8 nodded silently. "Fresh. Agent 4, 'Four', whatever you want to call me."

Agent 3 hummed through a forced smile and offered a short wave. "3."

"8. That's... that's my code name." The Octarian offered.

"Well I finally meet the two of you. I heard all about 3 from Marie and..." He paused, grabbing his chin in thought. "Are we going to do the code name thing between us?"

"Do you want to know my actual name?" 3 asked, the tone vaguely implying something that 8 couldn't put his finger on. Probably annoyance. It sounded familiar.

"I mean, it'd be great if we were on the first name basis, don't you think?"

The agent whipped his cape and began to walk away. "Not really."

That action seemed to floor 4 as he stood there, a finger posed and ready to emphasise his point. 8 found it vaguely amusing that the bright expression of the male had gone relatively stifled for a brief moment before snapping out of it. "What's up with him?"

"I don't know. I don't think he likes me."

"Seems like he doesn't like anyone," 4 said, watching as the other Inkling leaned up against the guard rail and stared out over the distance. "One of those types. I'll have a talk with him and let him know that I was able to do his job without anyone except Marie. Hey, you know Callie and Marie, right?"

8 felt his heart skip a beat - of course, the Squid Sisters! That was when he had heard the Calamari Inkantation...

And the battle in his mind that he kept losing, over and over again...

"Yes."

"They're out of the game now, but Marie helped me through retrieving the Great Zapfish back to Inkpolis Square - you seen it?"

He had seen it curled around one of the main buildings out of the Square the days that he passed through it.

"Crazy adventure. They had me field testing a lot of weapons too but I got something in return..." 4 proceeded to retrieve a few coupons from one of the pockets of his uniform. "If you're ever around in the Square, we should head over to Sean's and grab a bite to eat with these! I bet you're wondering what the food here is like."

"Y-yeah... one day." 8 wasn't sure what to think - 4 was being super friendly with him. He almost wanted to go and hang out with 3 - he wasn't used to this sort of contact. Well, everyone else was pretty friendly towards him (even if Cuttlefish had some prejudices to work out) but this was almost overwhelmingly so. His discomfort seemed to have been picked up, as 4 quickly rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sorry... you're new here and dealing with everything."

8 shook his head. "It's fine, 4." He tried to reassure him with a smile, but it still felt weird to do so.

"Arata."

The Octoling looked over his shoulder. "Huh?"

4 smiled. "My name."

"Oh. Nice to meet you then, Arata... Hachi."

"Nice to meet you too Hachi," He patted him on the shoulder. "Come on by and I'll introduce you to Marie. She can be a bit of a deadpanner, but easy to get along with. Callie's a bit more energetic though."

8 followed close by. "I... I'll come over now. I want to meet them." His heart pounded in his chest at the thought of meeting them finally. He couldn't believe it! All this time he had dreamed of meeting them and now... now he was here! His body language had become more energetic as well. Excitement buzzed throughout his body as 4 led them towards the end of the canyon where the rest were.

"You okay?"

The voice of the other Inkling snapped him out of his thoughts. "Huh? Oh... y-yeah, I'm fine."

"You're nervous." 4 was looking over him with a discerning look. "There's nothing to be nervous about."

He couldn't exactly agree - these two were the reason why he was able to find the courage necessary to attempt the escape to the surface. The promised land. They were important to him.

Cuttlefish, Marie and Callie were all talking by themselves, no doubt the old man was bringing them up to what had happened underground while they spoke about what Marie and Agent 4 had done in their absence. It was a pretty lively discussion all round, what with the day being saved thrice now (two of them within a month or two of each other, no less!) and maybe, they could finally relax.

"Ahoy, Cap'n," 4 greeted. "Nice to finally see you around."

Cuttlefish swung around towards the pair. "Ah yes, the two newest agents on board the New Squidbeak Splatoon! Marie has told me quite a lot about you Agent 4! You are a very courageous and very capable young man!"

"Marie's words or yours?" The Inkling joked, himself and Callie laughing at Marie's expression at the joke. She muttered something under her breath before trying to conceal her grin.

"I wouldn't doubt that Marie has grown a liking to you."

Marie spoke up. "Grandpa, please. Let's not inflate Agent 4's ego. Keep him humble and modest."

"I don't know Marie," Callie replied. "I think he can brag just a little bit."

"I see Agent 8 is with us as well," Cuttlefish said. "Come to meet the Squid Sisters, have you lad?"

8 nodded and stepped forward - there they were, finally. It was weird to see them being so... so normal. They weren't dressed in their stage clothing. They were just regular squids, same as everyone else. Yet their voices was of the heavenly melody that had unlocked something in his mind. The primal lock that had been keeping his true, inner self under wraps. He honestly didn't know what to do with his hands or what to say and everyone was staring at him waiting to say something.

He took breathed in and allowed himself a small smile. "I... I wanted to meet you both," He said. "Agent 3 and I were fighting our own battles when you two sang the Inkantation and... it saved me. It freed me and wanted to escape what we Octarians did. I didn't like what we did and hearing the song made me yearn for redemption. So... I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you, you two. You gave me the strength and courage to go on and fight for what I really wanted."

Not a word was spoken when 8 stopped, returning to his reserved self. The group seemed genuinely surprised for him through their shocked silence; even Cuttlefish was floored. He hadn't heard Agent 8 speak this much since they first met down in the Metro.

"Congratulations are in order, Agent 8," Marie finally said with a goofy smile plastered on her face. "You actually managed to get Callie to shut up."

"Marie..." Callie reprimanded her cousin, then turned to 8. "I... I'm just happy for you, Agent 8. That's what we lived for."

"That is the power of music."

8 stepped back, having said the words that he had so desperately wanted to say to them for days, weeks, months even. He owed them everything and felt so liberated now that he had said them. His heart felt a bit lighter.

"Say, where is Agent 3 anyway?" Cuttlefish asked.

4 shrugged and folded his arms. "I don't know - didn't want to talk to us."

"Sounds like 3 to us," Marie chuckled. "He was never one for idle conversation or... well, anything really. Just wanted to fight and get the job done. 4 reminded me of him actually when he started with me. You weren't exactly talkative, were you, squiddo?"

"Give me a break Marie, I couldn't make heads or tails with you back then. Don't blame me, okay?"

It seemed like 4 and Marie were friends as well. They have obviously undertaken a journey together, because whenever the two conversed he noted Cuttlefish and Callie's silence. Failing to follow the conversation as well, 8 looked around idly at his environment. The air was blowing strong.

Cuttlefish jumped in. "So where is Octavio anyway? Is he back where he belongs?"

"You mean inside a giant glass ball? Yep, home sweet home," Marie said. "He's just over there."

8 almost jumped out of his clothes - how had he not noticed that the DJ sitting over there?! Right in the corner the large Octarian was encased in a small dome, similar to the little trinkets that he remembered seeing. What were they called? Snow... globes? But there he was, the effective high king of the Octorians, tentacles folded and staring directly at him with the fiercest gaze that he had ever had on him before in his life. It made him so uncomfortable and yet... he could understand as well.

The DJ was no fool - he was musically talented and intelligent to boot. No one commanded an army without the brains that he possessed.

He walked over to the globe slowly. No one stopped him as he pressed his hand up to it. 8 looked straight into Octavio's eyes.

"Why are you here?" His voice rumbled at the Octarian. "Why do you live above-ground with these squids?"

8 dipped his head. "I'm... I'm sorry..."

"You aren't..."

He refused to believe it! "No! I really am sorry! I am. You understand, don't you? The Calamari Inkantation?"

Octavio's rigid folded tentacles loosened slightly, as he spun the wasabi stick around in a circle. "Yes... the Inkantation. The song that had bought about the demise of my plans twice now. I cannot lay blame on how much of an influence it has on us Octarians... but you did not have to abandon your entire race."

"No. I never abandoned anyone, not even..." 8 paused - another memory suddenly came to the front of his mind. Them. No... they had been... he didn't want to think about it.

A harsh knocking on the glass snapped him out of his thoughts.

"3!" Marie shouted suddenly - Agent 3 had appeared out of nowhere and was slamming the glass ball with his fist.

"Shut up!" He snapped at the DJ. "You shut up, okay? We don't care about your opinion!"

"3, calm down!" 4 scrambled to grab one of his free arms (which 3 expertly wiggled out of). "I slammed a Rainmaker onto his head, he's just being crazy!"

"Hey, 8?" Callie tapped his shoulder. "You okay...? You've gone pale, like super pale."

Standing back now, 8 just shivered and looked at his shaking hands. Then he faced Callie and managed to whimper out a sentence.

"She was sanitised..."

He knew they didn't understand. But what did Callie do? She hugged him. She hugged him so hard, trying to will out any tears that 8 had lingering in the back. He had abandoned her, way deep underground, to be surrendered to the machine. He had to... no, he couldn't even get the words out of his throat. His friend, his best friend throughout all this, was gone. He hoped that she had made it as well... but he saw her eyes just as he landed the final blow that day.

Was it mercy? 8 didn't know... all that he knew was that he was a murderer. By fate, he was the one to really pull the trigger after being separated for so long.

"She was my best friend... and I had to-"

"Don't talk," Callie reassured him. "We understand. These things... they're not easy to wrap your head around."

A scuffle behind them caught their attention and she let go of him finally - 4 had shoved 3 away from Octavio, finally able to get the angered Inkling free from their enemy. He simply gave the other male a growl before whipping his cape and walking away.

"Sorry about that."

Marie chuckled. "Don't be, Agent 4. We all know how Agent 3 is. Give him some time to cool off."

4 smiled back and brushed the scuffs off his sleeves. "Anyway... hey, is Hachi okay?"

"I'm fine," 8 replied, rubbing the back of his head - he really wasn't, but he didn't want anyone to care about him. "Just Octavio. That's all."

"Gotcha. So, what are living arrangements with Hachi like at the moment?"

"I shacked him up with Agent 3 for the time being until we can figure out where he can call home. I asked Agent 3 to look at some apartments but he hasn't gotten back to me or Agent 8 about it... I wonder what is keeping him. That apartment of his is quite small, room for only one, after all."

At these words, 4's eyes suddenly lit up like he was suddenly energised to use a special attack out on the field. "My apartment's got two bedrooms! Much bigger and I'd been looking for a roommate for a while before I got enlisted into the New Squidbeak Splatoon! You can stay with me until we can get you a new place, Hachi!"

8 stepped back from the pure look of excitement that 4 was giving him - he didn't really know what to say. But it was better than being cramped up in 3's apartment, he had to admit. And that wasn't to say that 3 wasn't exactly the best host ever... he looked over at where 3 was standing, kicking some rocks in the corner and leaning against the wall, arms folded. He had to admit, the past week he'd stayed with him wasn't exactly the best.

"I... sure, I'd like to, if that's okay with you Agent 4."

4 gave him a thumbs up. "That's all cool with me! You can totally be my roommate until you get enough money, super easy by the way, and I'll introduce you to so much stuff! Hey guys," He turned to Cuttlefish, Callie and Marie. "Does Agent 3 do Turf Wars anymore?"

Marie twirled her umbrella around gracefully. "Not since he went off with the Cap for that little expedition. Personally, he seems like he's outgrown that."

"What?!" 4 looked indignant. "I'm two years older than him! You can never be old enough for Turf War."

8 looked confused. "What's Turf War?" He was sure they weren't referring to the Great Turf War, but he had to make sure.

"Oh, that's right. Turf War is a casual sport that we do for fun and some prize money - objective is to cover the arena in as much of our team's ink as possible!"

"Do we fight each other?"

"Oh yeah, we definitely get into some scraps but we don't kill each other. If we get covered in enough ink, we just go back to our home base."

"I think you're sugarcoating it a bit, Agent 4," Callie said as she kicked her legs. "You get splatted if you're covered in enough enemy ink."

8 was immediately reminded of the tests on the Deepsea Metro - he had failed a few before, and the result had always been the same; C.Q Cumber screaming in his ear that he had failed and detonating the time-bomb on his back. It always felt like his body popped like a balloon, but it didn't hurt... much.

"If you get good enough, you can do other events as well. There's also a company called Grizz Co. that hires us to do shifts for hunting Power Eggs that we can do together. Lots of opportunity to make money and stay fresh."

Staying fresh... that was something that Agent 8 wanted so badly. His heart swelled at the thought of getting his own paycheck and being able to spend it on whatever he wanted. No conformity to a higher power, no more fighting for something big. He could walk around Inkopolis Square without Agent 3 judging him at every turn.

"Show Agent 8 the Plaza as well," Marie suggested. "I know the Square is a lot more fresh, but the Plaza is still a good hangout."

Callie agreed. "Shame the Plaza has lost the spark, but things have to move on I suppose. I hear 'Off The Hook' is... well, off the hook."

"Certainly, yo," Cuttlefish began to rap. "Don't need to disrespect 'Off the Hook', because if you don't listen to them you'll definitely feel the cook."

4 and 8 just shared a confused look.

* * *

"Home sweet home." Agent 4 opened the door to his apartment - the living room and kitchen greeted them like a pleasant family. It was certainly a lot more roomier than Agent 3's apartment, 8 observed, and the view over the harbor when they walked in was spectacular. So... this was going to be his new home. For the time being, anyway, he told himself. He still wasn't sure what to make of Agent 4 - the male was super chirpy and he wasn't really sure what to make of the enthusiastic personality.

Given the large and colourful cast of characters he got to know while just deep down in the Metro, Agent 8 shouldn't have been surprised that Agent 4 could be counted as one of them. Something in his mind asked him to keep an open mind, but it was hard when 4 was so... close. As in, he occasionally spoke really close to his face.

"So here it is!" He opened the door and was faced with an empty bedroom. "Your new room! It has your own bathroom and a nice view of the sea, same as mine - it's beautiful at night. I like to sit on the bed and watch the sun set while eating one of Sean's food. It's almost... magical."

As weird as it sounded, 8 liked the empty room much more than 3's bedroom. It was less cluttered, more organised and very plain. He was confident that he could make it his own just like he always wanted to do. But there was one problem.

"I don't have any money," 8 said to him. "I don't know if I can-"

4 held out a hand to stop him. "If you're bringing up what I think you're bringing up, don't. This is on the house until you get your feet wet with some odd jobs. But, speaking of odd jobs, I don't think you're going to be hired dressed with that." He swirled a finger, emphasising the tight fitting outfit that Agent 8 was wearing. He hadn't even really put much thought into it until he looked in the mirror - it was weirdly body hugging and made him feel out of place in the Promised Land now that he thought about it. No wonder so many squids were giving him odd looks whenever he went outside.

Before he could even react, 4 had tossed him something. Catching it, 8 saw that it was a small wallet. "Here you go," He said with a smile. "That will cover you for a few outfits to make you look fresh."

He couldn't believe it - inside the wallet was so much money! It certainly put the amount of pocket change he had earned in the Metro to shame. 8 didn't even realise his hands were shaking until 4 looked concerned.

"Are you okay, Hachi?"

Without even thinking, 8 had caught the other male into a very tight embrace and hugged him tightly. "This is the first time that... that anyone has ever been so nice to me since I've been up here... t-thank you, Four. I can't wait to go out and get something!"

4 had gone red in the face from embarrassment, he certainly wasn't expecting that! "We got enough time to head on over to the Square," He checked his watch. "We'll see if we can get you a discount as well. I think you're definitely owed one."

Half an hour had passed by since they left 4's apartment and headed straight to Inkopolis Square, where the afternoon sunshine was bearing down on them. It put 8 in a good mood as 4 showed him to 'Ye Olde Cloth Shoppe', where it was run by a particularly well versed jellyfish named Jelfonzo. 8 would eventually learn that it was because apparently he had learned to speak from an ancient form of Inkling language but it certainly confused him when the jellyfish addressed him in outdated terminology.

"How dost thou, cousin?" He greeted them as they entered the shop. "Ah, thou hast bought thy fresh face, Arata!"

4 laughed. "Yep, this is Hachi! He's new in Inkopolis and needs to be looking fresh. Wouldst thou provide?"

Jelfonzo spun his hat and immediately ushered 8 over to a rack. "I see thou hast coin. That will allow thee for fresh gear, mine cousin. Choose wisely and consult thy guidance if cousin is unable to find gear thou desire!" And with that, he slid away to attend to some other customers. 4 stood back and watched with arms folded with a smile as 8, once he got over the shock of being addressed like that, began to quickly leaf through every outfit that he could find.

They weren't sure on how long it took for Agent 8 to settle on the gear that he liked, but no one was really keeping track of the time. By the time 8 came out with something he liked, he was smiling from ear-to-ear when he bought the gear up to the counter.

"I see thy cousin has made fine choices of gear! Unto victory you shall achieve!" Jelfonzo exclaimed, quickly tapping the prices into the cash register. 4 sidled over and leaned against the counter casually.

"So Jelfonzo, you know how I retrieved the Great Zapfish and Hachi here saved Inkopolis from a genocidal maniac? Well, long story, but do you think you can throw Hachi here a little first-time hero discount for his troubles?"

8 shook his head. "No no Four, it's fine, I will pay-"

"You speakst with truth in thy voice, cousin," Jelfonzo interrupted, pressing a few more buttons - the price went down an extra 1000 coins! "But as thou hast agreed, one-time discount for freshest gear."

With a nod of encouragement from 4, 8 handed over the coins nervously. Jelfonzo separated them with a tentacle and was making sure that it was the correct price. Eventually, the jellyfish scraped the coins into the register tray, spun his hat and gave a big smile.

"Fresh gear is now yours, cousin! Wouldst thou like to equip thy gear before leaving?"

8 blinked. "You can do that?"

"Of course!" 4 replied. "You just bought it! It's your gear! Go on and put it on!"

After vanishing into the changing room for a short time, Agent 8 finally walked out wearing something that he thought he'd never wear in all his life since he'd heard the Calamari Inkantation - it was a burgundy hoodie made by a company that he wasn't all too familiar with, but judging by 4 thumbs up and big smile, he was sure that it was fresh.

"I don't think I've ever seen you this happy before, Hachi," He observed. "You are looking fantastic! One step closer to truly fitting in! Now," He pointed to a store to their left. "We still have a lot to do though..."

Another half an hour was dedicated to getting Agent 8 fresh shoes and then fresh headgear; Flow and Craymond were more than accommodating to help 8 pick out a hat that he particularly was fond of and Bisk eagerly shoved every pair of shoes in his face (much to the amusement of 4) until 8 threw up his hands and picked out some sneakers that made him feel... well, he didn't feel young. He just felt like he belonged.

The sun was starting to set when they walked out of 'Shella Fresh', 8 walking out into the light looking completely different. Everything was suddenly new and he didn't feel so sad. The thoughts about Agent 3 and all the fighting and everything was sliding out of his mind like fresh ink. He took a moment to breathe and look up at the sun.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah," He nodded. "It was like this when we reached the surface, the Captain and I."

"What was it like?" 4 asked, his tone receding to a more contemplative one.

It was hell.

Well... not the actual experience of ascending after the fight with Agent 3. He couldn't believe it when he first felt the breeze of the sea on his face, the lone tentacle on his head flapping in the wind. It was like he was in a state of dreaming. As he looked up, he didn't see the floating city in his mind's eye, but helicopters. The mechanical saviors that bought them all back to Inkopolis.

8 wanted to pinch himself and say that it was all a dream, or maybe every thing was artificial and he was still stuck down in the Metro. He didn't want to discount the possibility.

That fight with the giant statue... having to ride the rails one last time to detonate all the suction bombs for Marina.

Whenever he closed his eyes, he always pictured what would happen if he had failed - Inkopolis being turned into nothing, their whole lives and the work they had done... all dead. All gone. Kamabo was to blame for this. He saw in his mind's eye the life drain out of everyone's eyes as the beam hit them, the disappointment at his failure evident as he fell into the ocean. That could have been his life.

Instead, he was staring at the sunset with Agent 4 and starting a new life.

He turned to him. "I can't really describe it."

Agent 4 looked at him with a subtle, yet undeniably skeptical, expression but it faded away to his usual grin.

"You're with friends now; you have the New Squidbeak Splatoon and I hear you're friends with 'Off the Hook' now as well. What I wouldn't give to meet Marina and Pearl..."

8 hoisted his gear up and tucked it under his arm, tapping 4 on the shoulder. "I'll see what I can do, Arata."

"Y-you mean it? That would be awesome!" The Inkling looked positively excited for the second time in a row today. "I'd always wanted to meet them!" His view went towards their studio, which was right across the square and he had half a mind to run over and press his face up against the glass to see if they were there, but he was interrupted by a yawn. 8 looked tired. "C'mon, let's hit the train back to the harbor. I can introduce you to Turf Wars and everything else tomorrow."

"That sounds great. Hey, Arata?"

4 paused and looked at him. "Hm?"

"Thank you for today and giving me a home."

"Don't mention it," He handed him his train ticket and smiled. "Inkings and Octarians have been fighting for as long as anyone can remember. Let's change that."

8 nodded in agreement. "I like that idea."

* * *

_" **W** -e **L** c **0** -me t-t **0** **D** e **E** - **P** se-e-e **A** **ME** t **R0** -"_

His head wanted to explode; the blinding force, the searing pain, the visions of the thangs swirling in his mind!

_"c **0** llec **T** all thre **E** \- thre **E** \- **THREE** th **A** n **GS** to re **ACH** t **HE** **PR0M** i **S** e-"_

Agent 8 screamed into the darkness, screamed until his throat was raw and his body wanted to collapse and sink through the rails into the void. It was a trap! It was all a trap! He was going to be santized- _**SA** n **ITiZE** d- s **AN** -_ like her- he let her down- _he ki **LL** e **D** **H** e **RRR** -_

She screamed his name, she begged for mercy, Octavio was right, he abandoned her, he abandoned everyone-

_"y **0U** \- **Y** o **U** sh **0** u **LD** n-n-n **0** t b **E** a-a-al **1** v **EEEEE!** "_

The carriage rolled through the blue void. 8 could see the lights passing by, as if they were in a tunnel, but the tunnel had no end. No end to the rails, only towards more tests designed to push him to the edge of death, to the edge of what he could achieve in any scenario. He would be the perfect specimen, the perfect fighter to overthrow the Inklings, to take back what was rightfully theirs.

Oh, how 8 wished he could throw the bomb off his back. He wanted so badly to be done with it. But no matter how much he teared it to rip the burden off his back, it never wanted to leave. It was stuck with him and he would always be part of the corporation. They would test him until the end of time, until he would break and be _**S** a **N1T1** z **E** -_

_"You seem lost. Are you?"_

Iso Padre was sitting there, as he always did, sitting on a train seat in the void surrounded by the memcakes that he had collected from each test. He wanted to reply to him, but no words came out of his mouth. Despite this, the isopod understood him. He always did. 8 was so thankful to have met him.

_"Ah, young squire,"_ He spoke with the clarity of an angel above-ground. _"You return."_

No... no he hadn't returned. He refused to believe.

_"Don't you remember the words I told you, young squire? Dreaming too hard,"_ He caught a particular memcake out of the air, inspecting it with a finesse. _"It takes a lot out of you. Every day, we pray that we don't lose our health. Do you pray, Agent 8?"_

Every day. Every day he prayed.

_"You see it too, don't you? The floating city, the endless void, the destination that the train moves us towards but never arrives at. You are stuck here, same as all of us. But you haven't forgotten what it is like to be anywhere else, have you? That is what separates you from every test subject that walks through here."_

Iso Padre shook his head and looked through the window - they were back on the train again.

_"Kamabo... they have done terrible things... you remember it. Commander Tartar walks through the tunnels as well. Be weary of yourself, Agent 8; the joys of memories come with the pain of them as well. Maybe... maybe we are all sleepwalking."_

What happened next shocked 8 down to the core - it stopped at a station platform. Iso stood up, picking up his briefcase, the memcakes disappearing into the void.

_"In the meantime, this is where I get off. I'm sure this is your stop as well."_

And with that, he stood up and stepped off.

He wanted to follow but 8 found himself glued to his seat. A force holding him down, a control of his body that he was losing now, he could only watch as the doors closed and the train began to rumble away again. He wanted to move, but the visions began to swirl around his head again, the noises and the voices and the commands and he watched as his normally tanned skin began to infect itself with a sickly green hue-

_"w **A** s th **1S** w- **WHA** t t-t-th **1S** fe **lT** l **1KE**? **WAS** th **1S** i **T**?"_

His free will lost, his body slowing, his heart ceasing to beat, his body shutting down, he fought against it, he tried to-

_"I don't want to!"_

He raised a weapon at his best friend, who raised his back. He was staring at him, staring down the barrel of a gun, the commands in his head to pull the trigger and F1rE!

_**TH1S** **W** a **S** **N0T** h **0W** h **E** w **A** n **T** e **D** **1T**!_

8 screamed out again into the darkness as fought against the bonds of the commands telling him to kill his best friend. He just ran towards the elevator, endlessly running, wanting to reach the surface. But every time he ran, it would leave without him.

Agent 3 stared at him as he fell into the void again, the green hue covering him being the last thing he saw before he embraced the long awaited lingering of his own death.

That was what he deserved- _wh **AT** **H** e des-des **ERV** e **D** -_

"HACHI!"

8 snapped his eyes open as his body was being shaken - it took him a moment to comprehend where he was, but his heart was pounding intensely and his palms were sweating. All he could see was Arata- Four's teal eyes filled with concern and a deep fear that he had never seen from him before.

The Octarians body lurched forward with a wave of nausea, although he managed to keep himself clean. He didn't even realise he was crying loudly until he pushed himself into 4's shoulder.

"Hachi, calm down! You were just having a nightmare!"

"Am I here? Is this real?!" 8 wailed uselessly as he clinged onto 4's shirt. "P-please, don't go!"

All that 4 could really do was cradle 8 in his arms. "Hey it's okay - you're here in Inkopolis. This is all real. You don't have to keep crying."

No matter how much he tried to will away the nightmares, his body was in a big fight-or-flight response that he was torn between holding onto 4 and fleeing the apartment for safety. But no matter how much he tried to wrestle away 4 would still hold onto him, attempt to calm him down and to comfort him with small 'shooshing' that made his voice sound low, deep and warm in contrast to the usually high-pitched and bubbly voice that he was used to. It didn't even occur to him that 8 and 4 hadn't even known each other that long.

And yet here he was, clinging onto the next best person who cared about him.

And if that bothered 4, he wasn't showing it at all.

Once he calmed down to just gentle whimpering, 4 finally spoke when he was confident that everything was okay. "It's just a nightmare... hey, I have some food and drink if you want some."

8 swallowed - his mouth felt like cardboard. "Y-yeah... s-sure..." So much for his first night in his new apartment; he'd had a nightmare that almost scared his roommate to death. They walked silently to the kitchen where the lights were dimmed and the only thing that could be seen was the glow of the moonlight bearing down on them through the window.

He didn't deserve this.

His legs felt like jellyfish as the adrenaline left his body and he struggled to find a good foothold to lean against as 4 let him go and vanished into the kitchen area. It really was fight-or-flight response, he thought to himself as he tried to steady his breathing. His hands were shaking, he was getting cold shivers all throughout his system and he wondered if he could even eat or drink anything.

"Here," 4 appeared holding a can of something; he popped open the top and slid it across the counter to 8. "Kelp soda. That should help you out."

8 sipped it - it tasted... strange. Then again, everything he had eaten or drank so far had been overwhelming to him. Maybe it was the Octarian food that he was still used to (even though he wasn't even close to remembering what it ever tasted like). But it didn't take long for his hesitation to disappear as he downed the whole can in one go afterwards.

"Wow." was the reply he got when he put the can down. "Must have been thirsty." He then produced some fruit from the counter and passed it over to 8. He didn't pick it up right away; instead he was intent on looking at the outside. He caught sight of a particularly colorful yacht boat with a lot of lights. Must be a special occasion.

4 sat down next to him. "You okay?" He asked gently.

"Yeah..."

He really wasn't, but he didn't know what else to say. Now that he was thinking about it, it was quite embarrassing.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

They stared out the window a bit more.

"How did you find me? Weren't you asleep?"

4 shook his head. "No, I was up just doing some reports and what-not. I was about to grab something and head off to sleep when I heard you screaming."

"Oh," 8 felt guilty. "Sorry about that..."

"Not your fault. I just couldn't leave you hanging there, you know?"

He appreciated that, but still. "You could be asleep right now. What time is it anyway?"

"Around 2."

He had only been asleep for a few hours? He wondered if he would ever get a decent sleep at this rate. The prospect of such looked more and more grim as the days here on the surface wore on... maybe it was time to head back underground, he thought jokingly to himself. Regret and nausea filled his system though - no, that was a terrible idea. Why would he even think that? What was wrong with him?

"You think you'll still be up for a bit of sight-seeing and Turf tomorrow?" 4 asked. "If you don't want to, that's okay. You can stay here and just... I don't know, what do you like doing?"

8 thought to himself. "I like poetry, writing and reading it. Drawing is nice too. Octavio hated it."

"Hm?"

"When I was in school they just focused us on reading and fighting. If you got caught drawing they would humiliate you."

"That sounds like my school." 4 joked.

"... you'd be in front of everyone and they would laugh at you as the teacher tore everything up in front of you."

"... Oh."

4 decided not to prod him further - it sounded like a raw memory that he had innocently (and insensitively) made fun of. He tried to change the topic, although his curiosity about Octarian culture and education was tempting him greatly; he wanted to know the differences between them and Inklings. "So... you just learn reading and fighting?"

"Of course not. We were educated in both Octarian and Inkling languages too. I was average. I learned just enough to speak it and understand it, but some people go way too fast for me to keep up."

"Be thankful you're not Jelfonzo then. He got his language skills from reading Inkling slang from a book that I'm pretty sure predates several million generations."

8 smiled briefly. "Yes. He was quite hard to understand."

"For what it's worth Hachi, I think you're doing a great job. I've had no trouble understanding you."

"All of you have been fine too. I mean... I guess the Captain does that weird rapping thing that I can never keep up on."

The inkling laughed and batted the fruit around between his hands idly. "Don't worry, you're not the only one. Give me a sentence in Octarian then."

"Huh? Oh... okay. Give me a second." 8 cleared his throat and then he began to speak something that was sounded like an array of undecipherable noises that reminded 4 of his battle with Octavio. So that was the language then...

He also noted that 8 was a lot more confident and fluent when speaking his native language (it made sense). It made them forget for a second why they were up so late in the first place. "That's awesome." He smiled when the Octoling stopped speaking. "What did you say?"

" _'You are my friend, Arata. Thank you for helping me with my nightmare and giving me a place to live and a shoulder to rely on.'_ That is the idea of it, anyway. I'm still not sure..."

"Aw, glad to help out, Hachi. That was awesome though. We never learnt Octarian language in school."

8 hummed to himself. "What a shame. Learning new languages broadens your horizons in so many ways." He wasn't judging 4 or anyone else, but the culture of the above-ground seemed fairly rigid and set. Even today the rawness of the Great Turf War was still apparent.

"Can you teach me then?" 4 asked.

"Huh?"

"Can you teach me a bit of Octarian? I think it would only be fair, after all."

He honestly had to take a moment to listen to what 4 had asked him - was he offered to be tutored in Octarian language? He didn't know why he felt so proud to be asked that but it made all of his feelings from the residue of the nightmare suddenly fall away. "Of course! I'd love to!"

4 smiled as well. "It's a date then!" He was about to shake 8's hand when he noticed how much he was blushing. "Oh, n-no! I mean, we'll take the time to hang out together and we can start teaching!"

"It's fine! I just wasn't sure, that's all. Inkling slang is still new to me." He shook his hand in return.

And there, in that moment, 4 realized something that he wished hadn't suddenly come to mind when he said that awful word. 'Date'. As he shook 8's hand, he felt a tingling all throughout his body at the contact. 8 bid him goodnight and said that he was going to attempt sleeping again which left 4 sitting there and still batting the fruit in the cover of darkness.

He stood up, took a bite out of it and stared out the window.

"Well, squid." He murmured to himself.

* * *

 


End file.
